A week in the world of business and finance (January 05–12, 2012)

Each week QFINANCE will endeavor to bring you some of the biggest news stories from the past five days in finance and business, as well as some of the most fascinating websites and links that have crossed our path. We hope you'll enjoy reading it and you'll come back each Thursday to brush up on your finance and business knowledge.

Friday January 06

Following the Iranian threats to block the Strait of Hormus and after US pressures on the issue, Japan and South Korea aim to reduce their dependence to Iran by looking for new suppliers of crude oil. Saudi Arabia seems to be a good alternative and it seems Japan’s foreign minister was “paving the way to get more oil from Saudi” according to government close sources. More on the FT=============================

Monday January 09

In Britain, financial firms are planning to cut off jobs faster due to their fears about the eurozone sovereign debt crisis and lack of confidence. This was revealed by a survey published by the CBI and PwC published on Monday. According to the report, British banks and asset managers should cut 11,000 more jobs in the very first months of 2012. More on Reuters=============================

Tuesday January 10

After repeated pressures earlier this month, president of the Swiss National Bank Philipp Hildebrand resigned on Tuesday. Hildebrand had rejected the pressures on Friday over the scandal of his wife’s currency transactions but details of email exchanges showed he may have had a more active role in these controversial currency trades. More on BusinessWeek=============================

Wednesday January 11

The effects of the eurozone crisis seem to be slightly appeased as the French business confidence increased from a two-year low last month and industrial output is said to have climbed as well. The French Business Sentiment Indicator for manufacturers increased to 96 from 95 in November according to the Bank of France More on Bloomberg=============================

Thursday January 12

After a monthly meeting, the European Central Bank’s key interest rate was not changed and its refinancing operations maintained to 1.0%. The eurozone seems to experience “high uncertainty and substantial downside risks”, according to the ECP president Mario Draghi. More on BBC

The 6th Annual Capital Allocation & Stress Testing (January 31st – February 1st, 2012): This conference is a must for capital management and operational risk management professionals working to maximize returns through progressive stress testing and the reliable quantification of operational risk.

The 7th Annual Internal Audit Conference: Governance, Risk and Compliance will be taking place in India on February 22 and 24. Positioning internal audit function as a strategic business partner in the organisation to boost operational performance and upscale the quality of internal controls.

Come back next Thursday for another report on the world of business and finance.